Get Motivated to Clean: 10 Tips to Help You Beat the Mess

Need some simple tips and tricks to help you get motivated to clean? Try a few of these and you’ll be knocking out your to do list in no time.

Like most people, I love a nice clean home. In fact, I can’t truly relax when I see things that need to be done. But, let’s face it. Cleaning sucks. I hate it. And, I feel like it’s always there waiting for me.

But, since it’s a necessary evil, I set aside the time each week to get it done. If I let it go any longer, it’ll become too overwhelming!

Do you feel the same way? If so, you might be wondering how I get motivated to clean each week when I really don’t feel like it.

Today, im sharing what works for me to help me get things done.

This post contains affiliate links. To learn more, see my full disclosure here.

1. Turn on music, a Podcast, or an Audiobook

I don’t know about you, but if I know I’ll get uninterrupted time to listen to something I enjoy, I’m way more likely to look forward to it.

For me, that usually either means upbeat music or my latest audiobook. I pop my earbuds in and go to town. I know other people are really into podcasts, which is another great option!

Need some audiobook ideas? I shared a list of my favorite personal development books right here!

2. Enlist help

You’re most likely not living alone in your house, so don’t tackle the whole mess by yourself!

In our house, everyone gets jobs to do on cleaning day, no matter what.

Even my five year old has been getting jobs on cleaning day since she could walk. I’ve found a lot of ideas for age appropriate chores here, and also just think of things I know my kids can handle.

As they say, teamwork makes the dream work. Enlisting help will help you get motivated to clean and help you finish faster, so don’t forget to delegate jobs to the rest of your family!

3. Watch others clean, or look at pictures of clean houses

I’m always the most motivated to clean after I see my cousins house. She loves cleaning, and her house always looks like it’s ready for a magazine shoot.

It never fails that every time I leave her house, I come home and speed clean my own.

I also get similarly motivated by reading some of my favorite home decor blogs, like Just a Girl and Her Blog. Her home is always so pretty and put together, and seeing her pictures makes me want to do the same!

Apparently, watching Marie Kondo also helps, but I honestly never have.

4. Tackle a long overdue cleaning task first

Do you have one area of your house that you always put off until it’s out of hand? Mine is my bedroom and the office. Those are both places where messes go to die, and the mere thought of tackling one of those spaces overwhelms me, so I just don’t.

When I need to get motivated to clean, I like to start with one of those areas. It makes a huge impact, and marking that one task off my to do list usually feels so good that it makes me want to keep going.

5. Open the windows and air out the house

One of my favorite memories as a kid was cleaning day. I know. That sounds crazy, right? But on cleaning days, my mom would open the windows and doors and turn music on really loud.

The house was fresh, well lit, and bursting with energy on those days.

To this day, I still love to open the windows and air out the house while cleaning.

Of course, we live near Houston, so this really only happens during cooler weather, but when I can do it, it definitely helps me get motivated to clean.

6. Pick the hardest, longest, or most dreaded task to start with.

Do you have a space in your house that you hate cleaning? Like I said above, mine is my office. It’s multi-functional and just crowded with too much stuff, so it always feels like an impossible job. It takes the biggest amount of effort to clean that room, because I always have to declutter it first (see more on that below). I’ll be honest, a lot of times I save this room for last, and end up running out of energy before I get to it.

Instead, tackle those big cleaning projects first. It’ll feel good to finally get it done, and knowing you actually have the opportunity to have your whole house clean at once will be a great motivator to keep going.

7. Set a timer

I’ve recently learned about the timer method and find it really helpful in my own home. It’s usually used in speed cleaning, but I think it’s a great idea for anyone who gets distracted easily (like myself).

The idea is to set a timer, and see how much you can get done before it goes off. It’s a great way to make a big impact in a short amount of time. Plus, you only have to commit to one hour instead of the whole day!

I don’t know about you, but I’m way more likely to get motivated to clean if I know I’m not resigning myself to a full day of cleaning.

8. Keep it simple.

I used to have a huge cabinet full of cleaning supplies that I used every week. Each room had different cleaners and supplies, and honestly, just juggling it all got exhausting.

My advice? Keep it simple and avoid all of that.

I’m now a big fan of my multipurpose cleaners, like my favorite cleaner right here. I have one spray bottle that I’m able to use in every room of the house. I can use it in the tub, on the floors, on wood, granite, tile, mirrors…you name it.

It’s much easier than carting around a bunch of different cleaners for different jobs.

9. Don’t get distracted with decluttering.

It happens all the time. I start cleaning, and then see an area that looks cluttered, so I get caught up in that.

This is actually a big mistake. Decluttering and cleaning aren’t the same thing, even though people tend to get them mixed up all the time.

Decluttering takes time and attention, and often creates its own mess in the process.

Stick to cleaning the area on your cleaning spree, and mark time in your calendar for decluttering later.

10. Invite company over.

Nothing gets me more motivated to clean than when I know people are coming over. Especially new people! Y’all. I just hosted a birthday party and the morning of, I looked around my office (which guests have to walk through to go outside) and panicked. It was awful!

I’d been putting it off for weeks, and suddenly realized everyone was going to see it! In less than an hour, I managed to not only make that room more presentable, but it’s so clean that I actually relax when I go in there.

Its amazing what we can accomplish when we know our homes will be on display, so if all else fails, invite people over.

It can be hard to get motivated to clean. If you’re anything like me, it’s the last thing you want to do after a long week of responsibilities. But these tips are all things that have helped me immensely, and I hope they help you, too!

Want more cleaning tips?

This post was the last one in a spring cleaning series on the blog. You can find the rest right here!

Hi! I'm Angie. Girl Mom. Essential Oiler. Clean Living Enthusiast. Foodie. Aspiring Yogi. Texas Girl. Here, you can find tips and inspiration on real life sustainability, clean living, and a touch of minimalism for the average person. My motto? "I want to love the earth, treat my body right, and make the best choices I can, without constantly worrying about whether or not it's enough" I hope you find what you're looking for here.